The Triplets
by I.am.Yona
Summary: 15 years later... Katniss and Peeta were hoping to have a nice family of 6, Just them, their 2 sons, their daughter and the baby who is on the way. Their dream may have to work with 8 as 'the baby' might be 3
1. Chapter 1

**_Fifteen years later..._**

I run upstairs to wake Zaccai, my seven year old son. He has school today and his teacher hates it when he's late. "Zaccai, come on" I whisper to him, "I hate Mondays as well."  
"5 more minutes," he says rolling away from me.  
"Alright. Breakfast will be ready downstairs." I walk out of his room before searching the house for Peeta. I check our bedroom, which is where I last saw him, but he's not there. "Peeta!" I call out. Peeta doesn't reply but I've definitely woken the twins, Alec and Amber. They start calling for me to come in and see them. I open their door and switch on their light. The floor is always a complete mess, Alec never puts his toys away after his is finished playing with them. I give them a hug before helping them down the stairs and into the living room. I put on a kids show before continuing my search for Peeta. I run back up to my room to check my phone. I have a message from him. I open it and read it. 'I've had to go down to the bakery. A big order has just been placed. See you soon X.' I put my phone down and run over to the kitchen to make breakfast. Toast will have to do for today. "Zaccai, Come here now!" I call up to him. He slowly emerges from his room, still in his pyjamas. "Zac! Get dressed, we should be leaving right now!" I scream at him. He goes back into his room and I run over and help the twin get their shoes and jackets on. I grab the toast and give a piece to Amber and Alec. I butter the other two pieces and put them on a plate. "Zaccai! You are already late!" I shout. He is really annoying me this morning. Zac comes out from his room again. "I can't find my tie" He tells me.  
"Where did you put it?" I ask, urgently  
"I don't know. If I knew I'd have found it!" He says going back into his room to search.  
"Zaccai. Drop the attitude, go and eat breakfast, I'll look for your tie." I say rushing into his room. Zac goes downstairs and stares at his toast. A minute or so later I come running out of his room, "Zac, I can't find your tie, you'll just have to apologize to your teacher. What's up? Why aren't you eating?"  
"Dad promised me a home made pancake for breakfast today."  
"Just eat, You'll get a pancake another time." I tell him.  
"It's burnt." Zac points at his toast and stares at me.  
"Just hurry up, I'll be surprised if you make it to school by lunch at this rate." Zac gets up and and puts his shoes on. He runs back to his bedroom to get his school bag and I put Alec and Amber into the buggy and wait for Zac by the front door. When he comes out we start a brisk walk towards the school building.

The school has a separate building for each year group, so it's only the kids Zaccai's age is the building. I go in with Zac. I watch him tremble as he grams the door handle and I see him taking a deep breath as he opens the door. I'd never met his teacher before, so when I see him I am shock. "Zaccai. You are late." He says before noticing me. "Katniss?" It's Gale. The one who dropped the bombs that killed my sister, Prim. "Gale?" I say, still is shock.  
"Class, I'll be a moment. Sit silently please." He says to Zaccai and his class before coming out to talk to me. "Katniss, how long has it been since I last saw you?" He asks.  
"Fifteen years, Gale."  
"Fifteen?" He sounds surprised  
"Yeah, you killed my sister and I haven't forgiven you for that."  
"You know I didn't drop that bomb, Katniss. I was being taken away by peacekeepers while the bombs were being dropped. I was with you that whole time."  
"I know Gale, but you planned those bombs, even though you didn't drop them, you planned them and that's bad enough."  
"I'm sorry, I really am. I need to get back to the students, please, can we talk some more after school."  
"Alright, Gale. I'll be here to pick Zaccai up at the end of the day, you should come over to mine for dinner."  
"I'd like that, see you later," he smiles at me before going back into his classroom and shouting at some of the kids.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, what got you into teaching?" I ask Gale. We are sitting in my dining room. It's a plain room with pale blue walls and a light grey carpet, this is where we hold all of our family discussions.  
"I was looking for a job and I saw an advertisement for the school, I thought it would suit me as I grew up with lots of children around me." He replies.  
"Did you know Zaccai was my son?"  
"I thought about it once or twice but I was never sure," He takes his jumper off and puts it over the back of his chair.  
"Why is Mr. Hawthorne here?" Says Zaccai who is walking towards the table. "I didn't mean to do it, I promise"  
"What didn't you mean to do Zac?" I ask  
"I didn't mean to fight with Foxx, I'm sorry"  
"Zaccai. Thanks for bringing this up." Gale say, staring hard at Zaccai,  
"Sit down Zaccai, I want to know what happened" Zac climbs onto a chair and tries hart to hold back his tears.  
"Zaccai, would you explain to us what happened" Gale says,  
"Well... Foxx was... I'm sorry"  
"Zaccai, What happened?" I say to him.  
"Foxx said he was stronger than me and I fight like a baby..." Zaccai starts  
"So you start fighting him and now he's in hospital" Gale stares at Zaccai.  
"I didn't mean it, I promise"  
"Zaccai, we need to down there and see if he's Ok" I say  
"No!" Zaccai shouts  
"Why not?" I ask  
"I'm sorry for getting into the fight and making you disappointed in me, but I'm not sorry for what I did to him. He deserved it." Zaccai gets up from the table and runs off upstairs.  
"Zaccai Mellark! Get back here right now!" Shouts Gale as he get out of his seat and chases Zaccai. I get up and run after them both.  
"He's locked his door." Gale tells me. "Should I break it down?"  
"No, Let me talk to him" I knock on his door and talk through to him "Zac, Dad will be home soon, come and talk not and it'll be easier later."  
"The window! He just opened the window!" Gale shouts. I hear a thump from outside. "I think he jumped!" Gale and I run outside to underneath Zaccai's bedroom window.  
"Mum!" Zaccai calls. I run over to him. "I'm sorry"  
"Are you hurt?" Gale asks him  
"No, I'm Ok" Gale helps Zaccai up and we all go inside.  
"Zaccai! I'm very disappointed in you" Says Peeta when he arrives home.  
"Stop it! All of you! It's no big deal!" Zaccai shouts at the top of his voice.  
"It is Zac, a boy is in hospital because you hurt him" Says Peeta  
"That's it! How many times do I have to tell you. He deserved it!" Shouts Zaccai before running out the front door.  
"Just leave him, he'll return" Gale says,  
"But it's after 7 o'clock. If he's seen he'll be kept in the prison for the night and publicly flogged in the morning." Peeta says putting his boots on.  
"Peeta, leave him." I say, "With the security around this place I'm almost positive he's already been found."  
"We can't just leave him, Katniss he's our son."  
"I'm with Katniss here" Gale says  
"No one asked for your opinion Hawthorne" Peeta says  
"Leave him, Peeta" I say again.

The doorbell rings and I run to see who it is. Standing there, is a peace keeper with one hand on Zaccai's shoulder.  
"Is this your son?"  
"Yes"  
"He will be flogged in the town center at 8 tomorrow morning. You can collect him after." I stand in shock as the peace keeper drags Zaccai away. I close the door and whisper "He's already been found."


	3. Chapter 3

I stand in the town centre with most of the district at 8 the next morning. I grip Peeta's hand tightly and whisper to him "this is my fault"  
"Don't blame yourself. We'd warned his so many not to go out after the curfew that had been set for us."  
"Alright, He's lucky it's not worse." I try not to cry. Even though Peeta is telling me not to blame myself I can't help it. I can't stand to see my son get hurt. I hug Peeta and cry onto his shoulder.  
"Katniss, he'll be fine"  
"He'll be whipped seven times, how can you call that fine?"  
"Imagine if we went after him, we'd be whipped many more times than he was"  
"True," I try to say something else but the peacekeepers come marching into the square. They tie Zaccai to a monument in the middle while someone takes a long, leather whip and stands behind him. I hug Peeta tighter. "I can't watch" I sob into his shoulder.  
"It's alright, he'll be alright." Peeta rubs his hand across my back. Then I heard to first hit. I heard the leather strips hit against Zaccai's back and I hear my son's screams echoing through the square. I look over at him and wait for the next hit, this hit is harder and the screams are louder.

"Katniss!" I turn around to see Gale. "Katniss, bring him over to my house after this, it's closer." He puts his hand on my shoulder and tries to hug me but the next scream interrupts. "He's being so brave, he's so strong" Zaccai screams again. I look over at him. His back bleeding and tears flooding down his cheeks. The leather straps swing across his back again, he doesn't scream so loud this time, he just shouts "Stop! Stop it!" I see him trying to get away, I see him struggling against the ropes. He is hit again. "It's the last one." Gale says. I wait and see the Peace keeper taking his last, and hardest swing. Peeta, Gale and I run towards him. "Dad! Mum! Help!" He screams. One of the peacekeepers unties him and Peeta picks him up. "It's alright Zac, it'll be Ok" Peeta whispers to him as we run down the street to Gale's house. Zaccai is still screaming when we get to his house. Peeta puts him down on the sofa and I sit next to him. "Hey Zac, It's Ok, you're being so brave." I hold his hand between my hands and comfort him. "It hurts" He say between sobs.

"Yeah, it will hurt for a while but after that you will be Ok" I run my hand through his hair.  
"Where are we?"  
"We're at Mr. Hawthorn's house."  
"Why?"  
"It was closer than our house and we had to get you somewhere quickly."  
Gale walks over to me "He can stay here tonight, I can take him to school tomorrow morning."  
"Thanks Gale, I need to get home to see the twins before heading to the hospital for a check-up on this one." I gently rub my stomach. I have a baby on the way. I'm only about a month along but I can't wait to meet him or her.  
"Hope it goes well, see you later" He says.  
"Bye Zac, bye Gale, thank you" I say as Peeta and I leave Gale's house and head bac to our own.


	4. Chapter 4

Peeta and I sit in the waiting room of the doctors surgery. We are here for the first ultrasound since I became pregnant. The waiting room is a creamy white colour with simple paintings on the walls. The doctor calls us in. She is an old, tall, skinny lady, wearing a white coat that is way too big for her. She tells us to take a seat. "Ms. Everdeen, Mr. Mellark, Nice to meet you" She says, shaking our hands in turn. "How are you today?"  
"We're good, thanks" Peeta says to her.  
"So, you're here for an ultrasound, am I right?  
"Yes" I smile to her,  
"Would you come over here, just lie down there" I do as she says and she starts to rub the gel over my stomach. I lie there for a while with Peeta tightly holding my hand, I can't wait to meet this baby and expand our family. "The picture is unclear right now" The doctor says, "It's not rare for this to happen because it is quite early into the pregnancy but there is also the chance it could be twins"  
"It wouldn't be the first time" Peeta adds.  
"You've had twins before?" She asks  
"Yes, A boy and a girl" I say  
"Lucky you, I would have loved to have twins"  
"Do you have any children?"  
"Yes, I have a little girl called Harriet."  
"What age is she?" I ask  
"She'll be turning 26 next month."  
"She's not so little anymore then,"  
"No, She's all grown up"  
"It'll be a while before ours are that age." Peeta says  
"Trust me, in no time at all you'll be wishing you could turn back the clock to spend just a little more time with your young family."

I pick Zaccai up from school later that day. I stand outside the building and wait for the kids to come out. It's a really nice day today, not too warm but not to cold, dry and sunny. It's days like this that remind me of the times Zaccai and I went to the meadows after nursery and didn't come home until dark, it reminds me of when we didn't have curfews or strict laws that resulted in physical punishments. I wish I could go back to those days, standing high on a tree branch, teasing Gale because he couldn't get as high. That was before the games ruined my life. I'd still give my right arm to go back then.  
I decide to inside the school to see if Gale would come over again. I go through the doors and wait outside the classroom for the lesson to finish. I can hear Gale shouting at some of the kids.  
"Break it up! Boys! Stop!" There must be a fight, a lot of boys in Zac's class can get a bit violent sometimes. "Get out of this class and calm down, I'll be out in a moment." The boys come out of the classroom and slam to door behind them. They look at me.  
"Mum?" Zaccai says  
"What were you thinking Zaccai, I've told you so many time to just stay out of it."  
"I Just don't know what else to do, not everyone can be perfect all the time."  
"I'm not telling you to be perfect. I'm just telling you to be..."  
"Better. Well I can't, I've tried but it never works. It's the same for you, you still can't sleep with your light out.  
"Zaccai. That is no way to speak to your mother." Gale says coming out the door behind him.  
"Just leave me alone."  
"Zaccai Mellark. Stop acting like a fool, we know you can behave better than this."  
"You're calling me a fool when your the one who's dedicated their life to teaching little kids who don't listen."  
"Rett, go back inside and sit quietly." Gale says to the other boy. "Zaccai, you are a better person than this. I know you are."  
"Yeah, and you like my mum when you know she's married." That was it, the last straw. Gale went bright red and was raging.  
"Zaccai Mellark! You better buck up your ideas because this cheek and rudeness ends right here, right now! You will show up on time tomorrow and will behave like a model child because you have pushed the limits."  
"People always tell me to push the limits and be the best of the best so that's what I do."  
"Go! Now! Before I do something I'll regret!

* * *

 _Thanks for reading my story this far, I hope you're enjoying it.  
Please leave a review if you are telling me what you like and if you don't like it please tell me what I should improve. I'm always open to constructive criticism_

 _Thanks :)_


	5. Chapter 5

"You better be on your best behaviour today, Zaccai" I say to him on the way to school

"I can't promise anything" He says back.

"Yes you can, you just stay out of it"

"What if I can't"

"Then you're not trying hard enough."

Gale, Zaccai and I decided to have a little chat before shool started about yesterday. I didn't really know what happened because Zaccai refused to tell me.

"Why were you fighting yesterday?" I ask Zaccai once we had all sat down.

"He started it" Zaccai says, holding back his tears

"What exactly did Rett do?" Gale asks

"He... Well... I don't really know"

"So how did he start it?"

"He knows I can get angry sometimes, for no reason."

"How does that lead to you fighting him?"

"Well... He said if I told you he would beat me up"

"Told me what?" Gale says. I've decided to stay out of it because I don't know Rett like Gale does.

"He said if I told you he was forcing me to eat me sweets he would beat me up"

"Why is he forcing you to eat sweets?"  
"I don't know. They make me angry and I just want to hit everything"

"Are they pale blue?" I ask

"Yes, they don't taste nice either." Zaccai says.

"Oh, no" I say and jump to my feet,

"What?" Gale says, standing up aswell.

"Zac, stay there," I say going towards the door

"Katniss, what's wrong?" Gale put's his hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes.

"The sweets, they were made by the gamemakers in the 72nd Games, they make the person angry and violent for a few hours before disturbing their hormones and making them really upset. They get addicted to them and in no time, they are usually so hooked on it that if they get taken away their body wouldn't be able to cope and they could die!"

"What? Are you saying Rett is giving Zaccai drugs?"

"Yes, You need to stop him."

"I'll talk to him today,"

"I need to be there."

"You can't, this will just be me, Zaccai and Rett"

"But if my son is being drugged I want to be the first to know why."

"Fine, Don't ask any questions, just listen in."

"Good, you remember you can never win an argument against me."

When the other kids arrive at school Gale brings Zaccai, Rett and I into the back room. We sit down around a small, circular table and Gale start's asking questions.

"Rett, why have you been giving Zaccai sweets?"

"I just thought they were nice and wanted to share them with him" Rett says,

"Why would you force him to eat them if he didn't want to?"

"I just didn't want to be wasteful."

"Alright, Zaccai, can you go back into class and sit down." Gale waits for Zaccai to leave before he starts talking again. "Do you know what those sweets are, Rett?"

"Sherbert?"

"Have you ever had one of those sweets?"  
"No, They are my dad's"

"How often does your dad eat them?"

"When he's fighting with mum. He'll usually eat about six at a time."

"Does he act strange once he's had one?"

"Yes, He hits my mum and she'll run away crying and won't return until the next day. After she's gone he starts calling me things and hitting me. I used to run away to my shed and sleep there until he found me one time and now he locks me in the basement every time. Sometimes he'll come down in the middle of the night, I can smell alcohol in his breath. He hits me and punches me until I can't get up and then he kicks me. Then he'll leave me alone with some rats for company." Rett is crying now, I feel bad for the kid. He's been through a lot.

Gale doesn't. "Well, why do you think it's a good idea to take those sweets and give them to someone else?" He shouts, giving me a fright.

"I'm... I'm sorry" Rett says between sobs.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I just wanted to get him hooked."  
"Why? Who would make a seven year old have drugs to make them more violent? It's just stupid."

"If he was hooked I could sell him all of the ones in my dads cuboard and stop him from hitting me."

"I'm going to need to talk to your mum about this." Gale sighs

"You can't. She hasn't been home since me dad hit her last week."  
"What were they fighting about?" Gale asks,

"My mum just had a baby"

"Why were they fighting about that?"  
"Dad was not the father."


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey Zac, Wake up!" I say going into Zaccai's room. He sits up, rubs his eyes and looks at his clock.

"Oh no, School has already started, I'm going to be late!" He gets up and starts rushing around his room.

"Calm down, I've spoken with Mr. Hawthorn, You don't need to go to school today."

"Why?"

"We just thought you needed a day off after all that's happened recently."

"Oh, Ok. What will we do instead?"

"Well, Your dad has to work today so I was thinking we could all go down to the bakery and help him."

"Awesome, I love the bakery, will Amber and Alec come to?"

"Yes, you should go and get your shoes on. We can get breakfast there."

"Ok" Zaccai says and runs down the stairs. I go into the twins rooms and help them get dressed. A few minutes later, we're all ready to go. We walk down the street for a while until we reach the bakery. I knock on the door and Peeta lets us in.

"Daddy!" Alec and Amber shout running around. They go through to the other room and start watching T.v.

"Hey, Dad" Zaccai says,

"Hey, Buddy" Peeta gives him a hug. "What would you like to make?"

"Can I try a Victoria sponge cake?"

"Let's do a big one" Peeta smiles. I sit on a stool and watch, I've never been good at baking but I love watching Peeta and Zaccai work together.

"How do you remember how much of everything goes in?" Peeta asks

"Everything has to be the same amount" Zaccai says. He runs to the cupboard and gets all the ingredients. This is by far his favourite recipe, he makes it so often he knows it by heart."  
"Is this right?" Zaccai asks

"Yes, put it in the bowl" Peeta says. Alec comes running in from the other room

"Daddy, Daddy!"

"What is it Alec?"

"Can I help make the cake?"

"Can Alec help us, Zac?" Peeta asks

"Of course," Zaccai kneels down to Alec, "Do you think you can add the flour to the big bowl?"

"Yeah, Yeah!" Alec jumps up and down.

"Have you washed your hands?"

"Not yet," he says rolling up his sleeves and running to the sink. Peeta picks him up and puts him on the counter and Zaccai helps him pour flour into the big bowl. The three of them complete the batter and Peeta puts it in the oven. I go up to them,

"Alec, can you go and watch Tv with Amber. Daddy and I have to talk to Zac about something"

"Ok" he says and runs through to the other room.

"Am I in trouble?" Zaccai asks

"No, we just need to tell you a little story" I say,

"Once upon a time there was something called 'The hunger games' Where 24 teenagers would kill each other until only 1 was left. It was a boy and a girl from each of the districts, usually it would be someone from district 1, 2 or 4 that would win because they trained and the best of the best would volunteer. This went on for years and years, in the 74th year, a twelve year old was chosen and her brave big sister volunteered in her place. At the end of the games there were 3 people left, the boy from 1, the boy from 12 and the girl from 12, the one who volunteered for her sister. The people from 12 worked together and defeated the boy from 1. The boy from 12 didn't want to live without the girl and the girl didn't want to kill someone as kind and selfless as the boy so they decided to eat deadly berries and both die together. But the games were stopped just before they ate the berries because they had to have a winner. This made people very angry and now there are people who want to take something important away from those people." Peeta looks down

"Why did you tell me that story?" Zaccai asks,

"It's because your dad and I were the people from 12" I say

"And people are trying to kidnap you."


End file.
